Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Born: January 30, 1882

Died: April 12, 1945

Political Party: Democrat

Terms: March 4, 1933-April 12, 1945

Vice Presidents: John Nance Garner (1933-1941)

Henry Agard Wallace (1941-1945)

Harry S. Truman (January to April 1945)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), the only president to serve for four terms, was the presidential leader during the Great Depression and WWII. His New Deal policies that he put in place shortly after becoming president helped the country work towards getting out of the depression. He also was a great leader during WWII in the fight against the Nazi's in Germany. One of his few mishaps was his idea to fill the Supreme Court. Because of these events, FDR receives an A for his presidential grade.

President Roosevelt entered the White House in a time of turmoil. The country was going through the worst depression in it's history. One of FDR's main goals as president was to rid the country of its poor economic situation. During the first Hundred Days, Congress started making legislature to help the country in its economic depression. He wanted to implement his three R's into the legislature being created: relief, recovery, and reform. He believed that if we achieved all three of this ideas, the country would be brought out of the depression. The president started creating new jobs for the country, trying to stimulate the economy back to where it use to be. One of the main causes of the depression was the fact that the banks of the United States were untrustworthy. Another one of President Roosevelt's goals was to help create a better banking system for the people of the United States that they could place their money in and it would be safe. Another one of FDR's goals was to create an inflation within the country because he sought to rid the country of the debts that create the depression. He was the president that took America off the gold standard and caused an inflation of money. People with gld would sell it for an increased rate and then the gold would be used only in international trade because the rest of the world did not accept te dollar. During the end of his terms, another one of FDR's goals was to end WWII. The communist Nazi's had been ruling eastern Europe and were becomng a great threat towards America. President Roosevelt wanted to stop these communists so he could restore peace back within Europe and rid the world of communist powers.

President Roosevelt had a decent relationship with Congress. The main reason that he had a good relationship with Congress is because of the Hundred Days in Congress where they passed a number of New deal legislature that would help stimulate the economy like the Tennessee Valley Authority Act and the Federal Emergency Relief Act. Lots of these new acts that were put in place by Congress during the Hundred Days were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court but that did not ruin the relationship with Congress. Congress even passed a new law that granted the president legislative powers that the president never before had. Even after his first reelection, congress was still stacked to his advantage so he could still pass a number of new bills. But after his second reelection, the number of New Dealers decreased greatly, making it harder on roosevelt to create any new legislature. During this time, Congress prohibited FDR from packing the Supreme Court. Some good that did come out of this era was the creation of the Neutrality Acts and the first peacetime draft in American history. His relationship with Congress started at a new high but he ended up with an ok relationship. He had a very easy time passing laws his first couple years but later in his terms, he actually had to work a bit harder to pass laws because Congress was not packed anymore.

The most positive action during his residency was the Hundred Days in Congress. During this time period, Roosevelt and Congress passed many New Deal bills that helped the economy during the rough patch that it was in. Overal, it did not bring the country out of the depression but it sure did help it. It gave jobs to many people decreasing the amount of unemployed people within the country. This time period also helped the country come together during a time of turmoil. These bills passed during this time period also brought women into the work force. With everybody not making as much money as they need, mothers and fathers needed to both work so that they could support their family. This movement of women into the work force increased alos because of the war. When all of the men went off to fight the Nazi's, women filled the empty spaces in the factories making weapons and other utilities.

Roosevelt's worst decision as president was his attempt to pack the Supreme Court. FDR wanted to fill the Supreme Court with more New Dealers so that they could pass more legislature. The Supreme Court had been hindering many attempts of Congress to pass laws and Roosevelt wanted to end that. If he would have been successful, FDR would have practically been the dictator of America because he would have control over all three branches of government and could pass any laws he suited necessary. Congress did not pass the bill that provided Roosevelt with these rights. After the veto of his bill, Roosevelt had a very tough time passing bills through Congress because of the lack of New Dealers that left him because of this idea.

FDR's longest lasting impact on American society is the Social Securities Act. This act provided money to those who were too old to work anymore or if you were handicapped. This gave money also to the unemployed so that they could still provided for their families during the depression. This is the only New Deal policy that was passes that is still in effect today. This act did cause a scare within the depression because of the amount of unemployed in the country. This act was sucking all of the money out of the federal government. Minor chanes were made to it and it is still in effect today.

Franklin Roosevelt was a great president and was much needed in that time period. He helped lead the country out of the depression and kept us safe during WWII against the Nazis. He only had a few problems as a president so he deserves an A for his grade because of all the good tht he did for the country. He was a great president in a time when the country needed a great leader to help them.

"Franklin D. Roosevelt." The White House. Web. 15 May 2010. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/franklindroosevelt>.
"American President: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Foreign Affairs." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Web. 15 May 2010. <http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/fdroosevelt/essays/biography/5>.